Mercedes chief executive Toto Wolff has urged the FIA to ensure that rules allowing power unit manufacturers to develop engines during the 2026 season do not interfere with F1’s hierarchy.
The new power unit regulations for the 2026 season included performance balancing measures that will allow manufacturers to develop models that lag behind the major manufacturers by a certain margin.
The regulations set out three Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUOs) during the season, which will be given to those determined to be at least two percentage points behind the best internal combustion engine manufacturer.
The sport’s governing body, the FIA, is expected to provide more clarity on how the rules will be implemented ahead of the season’s next race, the Miami Grand Prix, with Mercedes going into the race with a clear advantage at the top of the standings after winning each of the first three races.
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Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli has won back-to-back Japanese GPs, becoming the youngest driver in history to lead an F1 title race.
“The principle of ADUO was that a team with an inferior power unit could catch up, but not jump over,” Wolff said in a speech earlier this week.
“Whatever decisions are taken and which teams are given ADUOs, we must be clear that such decisions, unless taken with absolute precision, clarity and transparency, can have a significant impact on the performance situation and the championship.
“We need to be clear that gamesmanship has no place here, but we need the right mentality here if the FIA is to act on ADUO.”
Wolff’s Mercedes team have dominated the opening races of the season and their in-house engine could very well become the benchmark that other teams will be given a chance to catch up to.
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After the first day on track in Melbourne, Adrian Newey explains how vibration and battery issues are impacting Aston Martin.
However, the Austrian seems to be hinting that he believes Honda, which exclusively supplies Aston Martin, is the only power unit manufacturer that needs “help”.
Wolff continued: “Each team will have a performance picture, but I think there’s one engine manufacturer that’s having problems, so we have to help. And all the other manufacturers are in pretty much the same situation.”
“So I would actually be very surprised and disappointed if ADUO’s decision resulted in any interference with the competitive hierarchy at this point.”
Wolff ‘not worried’ about Ferrari threat
As well as being a ‘works’ team that produces its own engines, Mercedes also supplies power units to three customer teams: McLaren, Alpine and Williams. Ferrari is also a works team, supplying Haas and Cadillac. Red Bull is producing its own engine for the first time and supplying it to its junior team, the Racing Bulls, while Audi is a works team with no customers.
Mercedes’ closest challenger throughout the opening race has been Ferrari, and team principal Fred Vasseur said ADUO was an opportunity for the Italian team to “close the gap” on the Silver Arrows.
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George Russell falls back as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc overtake the Mercedes driver at the Chinese Grand Prix.
Asked if he was worried that Ferrari’s ADUO would mean Mercedes chasing them later in the season, Wolff said: “I can’t say I’m worried. I think we’re all monitoring how decisions are made.”
“And we have accurate data from proprietary analytics to understand our competitors’ and our own engine performance.
“I think the FIA is looking at the same data in that regard and I really hope that they continue to think that they protect the integrity of the sport.”
“Because you don’t want to allow ADUO to teams that suddenly jump over someone. ADUO is always intended to be a catch-up mechanism, not a jump-over mechanism.”
F1 will resume with the second sprint weekend of the season, the Miami Grand Prix, from May 1-3, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
